Summarizing+&+Note+Taking

Read & Reflect

 * In what situations is it important for my students to summarize?**
 * Whenever students need to consolidate information into a manageable amount
 * When they need to identify main ideas and key points
 * Then they are making presentations (craft ideas into small, targeted frames)
 * When they are preparing for an assessment


 * What does summarizing help my students to do?**
 * Identify main ideas and key points
 * Connect content with similar themes
 * Make complex concepts more manageable
 * What do I do to help my students understand and use the process of summarizing?**
 * Use index cards to record key points
 * “Give me three” – what are the three main ideas of X
 * Text it to me (keep it focused)
 * Movie trailer strategy
 * Movie trailer strategy


 * What questions do I have about summarizing?**
 * It can be a difficulty cognitive strategy to teach. I’d like to see early grades work on this skill, but I’m not sure how to get it incorporated into the curriculum.


 * What is the purpose of note taking?**
 * Summarizing
 * Highlighting key points
 * Documentation
 * Identifying next steps


 * What is my personal style of note taking?**
 * Record as much as I can and tag (using key words) electronically


 * What do I do in the classroom to help my students take notes?**
 * I give my grad students the lecture notes ahead of time so they have the summaries and content. They can annotate and make further notes as the class continues. I also leave some elements blank so they have to engage to complete it.


 * What questions do I have about note taking?**
 * None – sorry.

Apply & Reflect
I LOVE Voice Thread and find it a time saver when grading large products and papers. I built this VT to demo how it can be a teaching tool for writing and grammar. I have my grad students submit their projects via VT and I go in and record my evaluation. I can attach rubric and make comments to explain grading. I know we are looking at VT to use for summarizing and note taking, but I also think it is perfect for providing feedback. The writing samples came from []

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Final Thoughts: my groups discussed how sometimes it feels like we are looking for a way to use the strategy (mapping tool, Voice Thread) instead of looking to see if the strategy supports the learning objectives. For example, concept maps make great sense if we what kids to examine and understand the relationship among concepts. They may not be applicable for teaching math facts. We need to be mindful that the tool, whether it is technology or strategy, MUST support the learning goals.